Nightmares
by Heart Of The Wizard
Summary: Dean had been having nightmares for weeks. If only Mary had listened. [pre-series]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Earlier this year I joined spnflashback's pre-series challenge on livejournal. This is the first story for my table. Took me forever to think up, and I still feel very off about it (it doesn't move smoothly). Oh well, here it is!

_Nightmares  
October 23, 1983_

"No!" Came the familiar shriek, causing John to jump out of bed. He ran down the hall, bursting into Dean's room in time to see his oldest writhing underneath the covers.

"Shhh, buddy, you're okay," John whispered, gathering Dean into his arms.

"No fire, n-no fire," Dean cried softly, stuck in a dream-like state.

"C'mon, Deano, wake up."

"D-Daddy?" The four year old asked hesitantly, voice thick with sleep.

"Yeah, I'm here. Shhh, I'm here," A sob broke from Dean's small frame.

Rubbing the crying boy's back, John paced the room, praying that these nightly nightmares would just end. For a week Dean had been having terrible dreams, but refused to talk about them. His scream that would either wake John or Mary, the only indication at how bad they truly were.

Dean curled tighter into his father, face pressed against John's neck. John sat back against the 'big boy' bed they had just bought the four year old, shushing Dean's cries. Eventually the sobs faded away, leaving behind a slight hitch in Dean's breathing.

"You wanna talk about it?" John asked, slapping himself mentally when Dean's green eyes widened.

"No," Dean choked out, turning away.

John went back to rubbing his son's back until he felt himself beginning to fall asleep.

"You wanna sleep with mommy and daddy tonight?" He asked, and felt Dean nod against his chest.

John carried the boy into the master bedroom, and laid him down on the bed. Automatically, Dean moved to his sleeping position, on his stomach. Turning the table lamp off, John settled into the covers, with Dean between himself and Mary. In seconds the ex-marine was fast asleep, snoring softly.

Dean tightened his grip on his dad's nightshirt, and turned his head toward his sleeping mother. She was facing him, a soft smile gracing her face. Dean lightly ran his small fingers over her face, memorizing it, trying to erase the images of the fire, from his nightmares, burning her skin away.

"No," Dean whimpered, moving closer to Mary.

Feeling safe between his mom and dad, Dean closed his eyes and hoped the dream wouldn't come back that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Well, here's part 2/3 of my story Nightmares. **Ames449** wanted more, and I personally needed more. I knew something felt off about the first chapter, and I think it was because it wasn't really complete. So we've had John deal with Dean, now we have Mary. There will be one more chapter after this, which I'll either finish tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for the reviews!

_Nightmares  
October 29, 1983 _

Rocking Sam after another nightly feed, Mary hid a yawn behind her hand. The motion of the rocking chair soothing the two into a peaceful sleep.

"Mom!"

Hazel eyes opened instantly. Mary jumped out of the chair, awakening the baby in her arms. Cradling Sam close to her, she quickly made her way to the room at the end of the hall. The second she opened the door Dean was up off the bed and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Dean, baby, another nightmare?" She asked softly, running her fingers through his long blonde hair. Ignoring her question, Dean held tighter to his mother. Suddenly, the baby began to cry loudly, startling Dean.

"Here, hold Sammy for me while I go get something," Mary handed the small bundle to Dean.

As he watched his mother leave the room, Dean walked over to his bed and sat down, holding his baby brother.

"Shhh, Sammy," Dean rocked the baby like he'd seen his parents do often. "Mommy'll come back. She _always_ comes back," He whispered into his brother's soft hair, the remnants of the dream still haunting him.

"Okay, I think _this_ is what he wants," Mary said, stepping back into the room with a pacifier in her hand. Sitting down tiredly next to her two boys, she handed it to Dean. Dean placed the binky into his baby brother's mouth, and almost instantly Sam stopped crying.

"There we go! Thanks for helping, Dean. You're a great big brother," She said with a smile.

"Yeah," Dean replied with a small smile of his own. There was a moment of silence, before the urge to ask Dean about the nightmares became too much.

"Baby, you know you can tell mommy about these dreams," She began hesitantly, watching her oldest as he looked away.

"No," Dean shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Then... then they might come true."

"Oh, Dean," A smile once again appearing on her face. "Dreams don't come true just because you tell someone them. Now, you tell me your dream, and I promise it will only be our little secret. I won't even tell your father."

Dean looked up uncertainly, "You promise you won't tell anybody?"

"I pinky swear," She vowed.

"Okay," The four year old took a deep breath. "Well, in the dream you're on the c-ceiling, and your on... _fire_," He whispered the last part, tears filling his eyes again.

"I'm on fire? I swear, if I find out your father's let you watch those weird movies of his," Mary trailed off, shaking her head. Then she turned her attention back to Dean, "Baby, it's just a nightmare. I promise it won't come true," She smiled reassuringly. Dean didn't look too convinced, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Now, let me go put Sammy back to bed, and then I'll come back and tuck you in. How about that?" She asked, taking the sleeping baby away from Dean's careful hold.

Staying on the edge of his bed, Dean waited for his mother to return.

He must've dozed off, because the next minute he felt his mother pulling the sheets over him. Mary brushed his bangs away and placed a kiss on his forehead, before whispering good night and shutting the bedroom door behind her.

Now wide awake and no longer feeling protected by his mother's promise, Dean laid tensely under the covers. What if the nightmare _did_ come true now? What if he fell asleep and awoke to his mom burning above him? At this thought, Dean tightly clenched his eyes shut.

"Stop being such a baby, Dean. Mommy said it's just a dream," He told himself firmly, but still refused to open his eyes, afraid of what he might see.

Minutes felt like hours, as Dean laid in his bed waiting for the sun to come up, and wash away the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is the end.** It took quite a bit of time to write, because I had at least twenty different versions of the final chapter. But I finally settled for this one. Also, I've always been confused as to how Dean knew something was wrong and to go back to Sam at the end of the Pilot. So the end of thist story kiiiinda answers that for me. The song at the end is what inspired this whole story, it's "Now Comes the Night" by Rob Thomas. Yes, I know this chapter is short and probably predictable, but I'm happy with it. And this is my last story of 2007! Woohoo! **--Brie**

_Nightmares  
November 2, 1983_

"Good night, Sam," Dean said, turning away from the wooden crib, after placing a sloppy kiss on his baby brother's forehead.

A noise from the doorway caused Dean to look up, and his face instantly broke into a grin. _Dad was home early_. Dean jumped into his father's arms, hugging him tightly around the neck.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, buddy!" John smiled, hugging Dean just as tightly. "What d'ya think? Sammy ready to toss around the football yet?"

Dean leaned back in his father's arms, and saw that he was joking. "No, daddy," He giggled.

Mary stepped behind Dean, laying a hand gently against his back before moving it down to her husband's wrist. "You got him?" She asked.

Dean laid his head on his father's shoulder, ready to be taken to bed.

"Yeah, I got him," John smiled. "Sweet dreams, Sam," He called, before turning off the light and walking out the door with Dean in his arms.

"So, Deano, no more nightmares?" John asked, as he tucked the navy blue sheets around Dean.

"Nope," Dean replied with a smile. _Not since I told them to mom._

"That's great," John ruffled his son's hair, before making his way to the door.

"Wait! You _forgot_!" Dean said incredulously.

John stared at the boy, confused, "Forgot what?"

Dean pointed to the radio on his nightstand. Ever since John had bought the radio for Dean's birthday, the four year old had barely gone a single night without it playing.

"Oh! That's right, sorry," John said, walking back to Dean's side. Flicking the side lamp back on, the man fumbled with the multiple switches covering the radio's front, searching for the on button. Finding it, music instantly pouring out of the speaker. John turned the volume down to a dull drone.

"You good, bud?" He asked, turning the side lamp back off.

"Yeah, dad, I'm good now."

"Okay, well, g'night," John flipped the ceiling light off, and closed the door behind him.

Dean rolled over onto his stomach, facing his car-shaped nightlight. His emerald green eyes began to droop as he listened to the song on the radio playing softly. The four year old smiled contentedly as the feeling of happiness washed over him, warmed him. His father was downstairs watching TV, his mother was most likely already fast asleep, and Sammy was in the room next to his falling asleep. Dean was _safe_.

The full moon slowly began to rise over the trees, the light shining softly through Dean's bedroom window.

Dean had just begun to doze off when suddenly he heard the music from the radio turn to static. Opening his eyes curiously, the small boy noticed his nightlight flickering on and off. Cocking his head, Dean stared at the flickering light, unsure of what was going on.

Just as he was about to call for his dad, he heard it.

"_No_!"

Dean flinched, eyes wide in fear, as he heard the familiar shriek from his dreams.

_When the hour is upon us  
And our beauty surely gone  
No, you will not be forgotten  
No, you will not be alone_


End file.
